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Real Steel Calls on Design Talent for New Fixed Blade

February 9, 2018

Real Steel Knives will be growing their fixed blade lineup with the Gardarik. Real Steel has been driving at the outdoor market with its recent fixed blade releases like the Forager, and the Gardarik falls in line with that strategy.

The company’s Jamie McKenna describes the Gardarik as an outdoors tool that simplifies an outdoorsman’s life by covering all the bases. “It can be used to perform any work where you need a strong and reliable knife for cutting, chopping, and piercing,” he explains. “Such a knife will minimize the number of tools on a hike or when outdoors.” Large and small versions will sport 5.51- and 4.25-inch 9Cr14MoV blades respectively. They carry longer cutting edges than many RSK fixed blades, and the large model will be the biggest knife the company has ever made.“Both versions of the knife are universally useful, but the larger version is more oriented to the felling of wood, and the smaller more suitable for accurate, controlled cutting,” McKenna says.

Whether users opt for the large or small, both will come with an accommodating G-10 handle that encloses the steel tang. “This makes knife work much more comfortable; especially during cutting or working in the colder seasons,” says McKenna. For retention and carry RSK opted for the same Kydex sheathes seen on other knives in their burgeoning fixed blade line.

Ivan Braginets doesn’t enjoy the name recognition of some other designers, but McKenna believes RSK’s new partner has the potential to go far. “We have even more new designs coming from Ivan in the future. He is a talented designer who has tremendous knowledge when it comes to knife making and knife aesthetics. This is one of the main reasons why we chose to work with him.”

With any RSK release, the question of variations arises. The G3 Puukko began life as a folder but will see a fixed blade model as well. Will the Gardarik fixed blade make a similar transition in the future? According to McKenna, that won’t happen. Instead, RSK will be turning to Braginets for more designs. “[The Gardarik] is best suited in the fixed blade knife range. However, Ivan’s new designs will produce some exciting new folders being added to the RSK knife range in the next couple of months.”

The Gardarik will be released on February 28th. The large model costs $99.50 and the small will set you back $89.50.

Knife featured in image: Real Steel Knives Gardarik

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